Saturday, April 5, 2014

Holding the hill

Native plants, holding our hill in place.

We've had about 5 inches of rain since the new year, and it definitely shows on most of the hillsides.  All over, there are native grasses, mustard and lupines, along with about 10 other species I can't yet identify.  
Lupines and other flowers amid the raspberry vines.

When the rain comes there are always certain places in California where mudslides are a possibility, but we have chosen to let our hillside remain in its native state, with no plowing down or discing going on. I believe it not only helps the native insects, reptiles and bees in the area, but also the topsoil.  Which can only be good, for us as well as all the other creatures we share the land with.  

Natural beauty with a purpose.

We will whack some of this down once it's gone to seed and turned brown, but for now we're enjoying the green grasses and flowers dotting the hillsides.

2 comments:

  1. The colors are so pretty together! So glad you've had rain. I think we've had five inches of rain in the last two weeks! My lawn is useless swampland. I'm sure the rain has been wonderful for the new trees.

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    1. I have always wanted to live in an area like yours, where rains could be expected, and everything stays green. But the swampy lawn and humidity might be tough for me, since I didn't grow up with much water around. I still dream about it though.

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